Birren wrote:The RHGPA is (or was) the Reel HG Pilots Assn. It was originally formed as the XCTPA - Cross Country Tow Pilots Assn - in 1985 but was toned down to attract more pilots, hence the tongue-in-cheek "Reel Pilots" moniker. We started static line towing at Bong Park in SE Wisconsin on their 2.6 mile almost-was-a-runway road. From '86 to '96, we hosted the Region 7 Memorial Day Competition which attracted regulars such as Bill Bryden, Rich Sacher, Nelson Howe, the Minnesota guys, a few from Oklahoma, Nebraska, Alabama and Florida, all eager to practice what Donnell Hewett had developed; Don himself came up for the last one in '96 which was cancelled due to weather.
Do you known Bill Cummings? I think he's from Minnesota, but he lives in Las Cruces now. He's been helping the Rio Grande Soaring Association (RGSA) get onto the US Hawks forum (check out their Chapter's subform here).
Birren wrote:The RHGPA exists today only as a yahoo group, where the occasional flying-related post is submitted, and the website you saw that provides some measure of advice to those interested in foot-launched ground-based towing. But there are quite a few pilots here in the Chicago area who are mostly aerotowing at Enjoy Field south of Kankakee and I still maintain close contact with them, in fact this coming February will be my 29th (?) Annual Parachute Clinic for the locals.
Thanks for that information.
I believe the sport of hang gliding is far more fractured than it should be. We have clubs all over the country that have very little connection to one another. That's why the US Hawks is committed to uniting clubs through a common forum. If you check out the Chapter forums, you'll see that they mostly have their own distinctive look and feel. They're also completely controlled by their club's leadership. I work for them when it comes to decisions on their forums. If they want a color changed, I change it. If they want to establish a posting policy, I enforce it.As the forum (and forum software) matures, I anticipate that they will have direct control of their forums.
But while each club's forum is controlled by their leadership, the fact that all forums exist under one umbrella helps bring us together. For example, you can quickly see the latest posts across all forums to keep up to date. You can search across all forums to find information. I think this will help all of us work better together, and it will help us bring resources together to better protect our existing sites and open new ones.
If you'd like to try it out for the "Reel Pilots", I'd be happy to set up a demonstration forum (as I have with other clubs) and you can see how it works. Please let me know!!!
Thanks again for posting and for all your efforts in the sport.
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P.S. Here's the message that I posted to the RGSA forum when they were just getting started (you can find it in the "About the RGSA" topic in their forum). I think this explains our philosophy regarding integration of local and national chapters pretty well.
Hello RGSA Members!!
Thanks to Bill, Hadley, and the RGSA leadership for your interest in the US Hawks forum. The US Hawks is an experiment to see if we can use on-line tools (like this forum) to do a better job of connecting our pilots and our chapters and a national association. We'll see how it works.
The forum is divided into national and local sections. The national sections are controlled by the national association (currently that's me until we can form a national Board of Directors). The local sections are controlled by each local Chapter. I want to emphasize this, because it's important. Local Chapters MUST have the final say regarding their forums. They decide themes and color schemes (check out Torrey Hawks and Tooele Hawks for example). They decide posting policies (club members or all US Hawks members). They decide discipline issues like banning. They pretty much decide everything. My only role with regard to Chapter forums is to carry out the will of the Chapter's elected officers. So I work for your Board with regard to your club's forum.
As I said above, the US Hawks is an experiment to see if integrating national and local clubs can benefit our sport. I believe it can, and my goal with the US Hawks is to do what I can to make that happen. I hope the RGSA leadership will give it a try, and I look forward to seeing an active forum for your club.
Best wishes, and fly safe!!
Bob Kuczewski
Home
meaning the loss of a considerable percentage of the current yahoogroup members, especially those who are computer challenged, if'n ya know what I mean. The RHGPA yahoogroup has been around since 2000 and I also own the world Tow Group (skysailingtowing) and "worldhg" (though that's been dead for some time). 
about ushPa and the snotty officers 
and to know it's not just my own echo. 
